Billiard ball rack



Jan. 21, 1969 F, SOWA BILLIARD BALL RACK Filed April 6, 1966 QQMQMQ 5 m T 7mm m 71S 6 I J k n nu r F United States Patent 6 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A billiard ball rack having a triangular frame with slots in two of the side elements an a bottom wall pivoted at an apex between a rear wall and one of the side walls, and a latch normally latching the bottom wall in closed .position and manually operable to release a biasing element for swinging the bottom wall to open position.

This invention relates to a ball rack for positioning the balls on a pool table.

The present invention comprehends providing a novel rack which comprises a peripheral triangular frame and a removable bottom so that when the balls are arranged in the rack and placed upon the .pool table in proper location, the balls may be dropped onto the table simply by withdrawing the bottom.

In prior art devices removable bottoms have been suggested. However, these have been impractical since it required the user to stabilize the rack in position while tugging with the other hand to remove the bottom. Thus the rack would tend to slide out of position whereupon the constant shifting would eventually wear down the felt base of the pool table.

The present device is intended to aleviate these problems and to simplify the procedure of racking the balls.

More specifically the invention contemplates providing a novel rack with a bottom which enters through slots in the sides of the rack frame and is pivotal on one of the rear corners into and out of the rack, the bottom being spring actuated to open position by a release mechanism operable by the user as he holds the rack in proper position on the table.

These and other objects and advantages inherent in and encompassed by the invention will become readily apparent from the following specifications and drawings, where- FIGURE 1 is a plan view of my novel rack showing the balls therein;

FIGURE 2 is a vertical section taken substantially on line 2-2 of FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 3 is a horizontal section taken substantially on line 3-3 of FIGURE 2;

FIGURE 4 is an enlarged fragmentary section taken substantially on line 4-4 of FIGURE 1 showing the lock in latched position;

FIGURE 5 is a sectional view with the lock shown in release position taken substantially on line 5-5 of FIG- I URE 4.

Description of the invention Describing the invention in detail, the rack generally designated 2 comprises a triangular frame 3 having vertical side walls 4, 5 and a rear wall 6 which form the front apex 7 and the rear apices 8 and 9.

Adjacent to their lower edges 10 and 11 (FIG 2) the side walls 4 and 5 are provided with horizontally aligned slots 12 and 13 and slot 12 is flanked by upper and lower ribs 14, 15 and slot 13 is also flanked by upper and lower ribs 16 and 17 which widen the upper and lower surface areas 18, 19 and 20, 21 of slots 12, 13 so as to provide pro-per long wearing surface supports for the horizontal Patented Jan. 21, 1969 ice bottom Wall member 25 which is entered into these slots.

The bottom wall member 25 is generally triangular in plan and has side edges 26, 27 and a rear edge 28. The rear edge portion 28 has a downward bevel 29 which is adapted to facilitate entry of this edge into the slots 13 and the slot 30 in the rear apical element 8, said slot 30 being in the same plane as the slots 12 and 13 and the slot 31 in the front apical element 7.

It will be observed that as the bottom element is withdrawn from the frame the balls 32 roll off the rear edge portion upon the rearwardly inclined bevel surface 29 and thus the descent of the balls develops a wedging action on the bottom wall urging it to open or withdrawn position A as shown in FIGURE 3 from the position B shown in solid lines in FIGURE 3.

In order to prevent complete withdrawal of the bottom wall from the frame, the bottom wall 25 is provided on its bottom side 33 at the edge 28 with a depending stop lug 34 which in the operating position extends into a notch 35 in the horizontal ledge 36 which extends inwardly from the rear wall 6 and provides a top support surface 37 for the edge portion 28 of wall 25 coplanar with the lower edge surfaces 19 and 21 of the slots 12 and 13 as well as the lower sides of the slots in the apical elements. The stop 34 abuts as at 37 against the adjacent portion of ledge 36. This same lug 34 extends into a notch 38 in the lower rib 1-5 as best seen in FIGURE 2 and abuts against the surface 39 whereby preventing complete withdrawal of the bottom wall. However edge 28 does withdraw past the edge 40 of the beads 14 and 15 and these edges are vertically aligned with the interior edge 42 on the upper edge internal bead 43 of wall 12 and the edges 44 of beads 16 and 17 are vertically aligned with the interior edge 45 of upper bead 46 of wall 13. It will be observed that all of the corners or apices 47, 48 and 49 of the bottom element are entered into the slots 30, 31 and a slot 50 in apical element 9 respectively so that the bottom will not sag with the balls 32 placed upon its upper surface 53 as seen in FIGURES l and 2.

A feature of the present invention is in the provision of a novel release mechanism 55 for automatically withdrawing the bottom from the rack. In the present instance this device comprises a torsion spring 56 which has one end portion 57 anchored as at 58 to an upper flange portion 59 of the apical element 9 and a lower end portion 60 anchored as at 61 to the lower wall element 25 adjacent to its edge 28. The portions 57 and 60 extend transaxially of the coil portion 61 of the spring which is sleeved over a sleeve -62 which has a lower end outturned flange 63 affording a seat for the lower end of coil portion 61 which serves as a compression spring as well as a torsional spring. The upper end of the coil portion 61 bears against the underside of the apical flange 59 as best seen in FIGURE 5. The sleeve 62 is fixed to a transverse pin 64 which extends through a transverse vertically elongated slot 66 in a pivot pin 67 which at its lower end extends through a tubular or cylindrical bearing sleeve 68 formed integral with the apex 49 and projects upwardly therefrom and has a bore 69 which complementally receives the pin 67 to about which the bottom panel 25 swings horizontally. The upper edge of bearing sleeve 68 is formed with upwardly directed jaw clutch teeth 70 which engage complemental teeth 71 on the clutch sleeve 73 which slides axially on pin 67 and is connected to the transverse pin 64. The upper end of the sleeve 73 extends through a bore 74 in flange 59 and has a shoulder 74a formed on the lower end of a finger hold 75, the shoulder limiting downward movement of the clutch element 73.

The pivot pin 67 is constrained against rotation by having a nonround, preferably square, lower end 76 which enters a complemental opening 77 in an extension of ledge portion 36 of the rear wall of the frame.

As best seen in FIGURE 5 the teeth 70 and 71 have opposing locking faces 76, 77 which extend generally parallel with the axis of pin 67. The back faces 78, 79 of these teeth however are in the form of ramps, being diagonal so as to escape over each other attendant to the bottom or base wall 25 being moved manually from open position A to closed position B whereupon the teeth snap into locked position as seen in FIGURE 4 and the latch is spring loaded, because the spring has been wound, although it will be understood that the spring is prewound during assembly.

In order to release the base wall 25 from the position B, FIG. 3, with the balls in the rack, the operator, after placing the rack in proper position on the .pool table with the lower edge 80 seated on table surface 81, places his thumb upon the upper end 82 of pin 67 and with his index and middle finger straddling the hold 75 lifts the hold whereby releasing the clutch whereupon the spring unwinds and swings the base wall 25 from position B to position A. The wall 25 stops upon lug 34 engaging face 39. The operator then lifts the rack oif the balls.

It will be realized that the rolling action of the balls although they augment the outward movement of the base wall 25 they also serve to control such movement so that it progresses gradually in supplementing the biasing force of the spring.

In order to facilitate placement of the rack, I provide a pair of handles or handholds 85, 86 on the side walls 4 and 5 extending outwardly from the upper edges thereof. These handholds are located at the center of gravity of the loaded rack so that merely by the user placing his fingers under these handles, he can balance the rack and thus easily place them upon the table.

Having described a preferred embodiment of the invention, various other forms will now become readily apparent to those skilled in the art which will be covered by the appended claims. It will however, be realized that the structure may be made of any material such as molded plastic, metal or wood.

I claim:

1. A pool ball rack having a triangular frame including a pair of side walls and a rear wall and apical structures interconnecting the same, said side walls having coplanar slots therein and a bottom wall of generally triangular configuration having a pices extending into corresponding apical structures and having side edge portions projected through slots in respective side walls, means pivotally mounting said bottom wall from one of said apical structures at the corresponding apex of the bottom wall whereby the bottom wall is swingable between a position closing the bottom of the frame and opening the same, and biasing means reactively stressed between said frame and said bottom wall for swinging said bottom wall to open position, and means for normally latching said biasing means and upon manual actuation for releasing said biasing means for swinging said bottom wall to open position.

2. The invention according to claim 1 and said releasable means comprising a torsion spring having one end connected with said bottom wall and another end with the frame, and clutch means connected between the frame and the bottom wall and operator actuated to engaged and disengaged positions.

3. A pool ball rack having a triangular frame including a pair of side walls and a rear wall and apical structures interconnecting the same, said side walls having coplanar slots therein and a bottom wall of generally triangular configuration having apices extending into corresponding apical structures and having side edge portions projected through slots in respective side walls, means pivotally mounting said bottom wall from one of said apical structures at the corresponding apex of the bottom wall whereby said bottom wall is swingable between a position closing the bottom of the frame and opening the same, and said bottom wall having a rear edge portion contiguous to said rear wall in the operative position and said rear portion having a rearwardly downward bevel for rolling the balls off the rear edge as the bottom wall is being withdrawn whereby the balls develop a wedging action on the rear edge of said bottom wall and said bevel serving as guiding means facilitating re-entry of the bottom Wall into said slots.

4. The invention according to claim 3 and said bottom wall having a rear edge and stop means depending from said edge and positioned for engagement with the rear Wall in closed position and engageable with the interior side of one of the side walls in open position of the bottom wall.

5. The invention according to claim 4 and releasable operator actuated means including spring means reactively stressed between said bottom wall and the frame and clutch means connected between said bottom wall and frame, said spring means disposed to simultaneously interlock said clutch means and to bias the bottom wall to open position.

'6. The invention according to claim 5 and said pivotal means including a pin nonrotatably connected to the frame, and said clutch means comprising a clutch member connected to the bottom wall, an axially movable clutch element nonrotatably connected to the pin, and said spring means compressively reactive between said clutch element and the frame and torsionally reactive between the frame and said bottom wall.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 230,652 8/1880 Parker 27322 464,745 12/1891 Sweet 27322 501,256 7/1893 Rohrbach 273-22 1,260,540 3/1918 Hogue 27322 1,499,407 7/1924 Savoie 273-22 2,469,652 5/1949 Jones 27322 FOREIGN PATENTS 561,970 6/1930 Germany.

RICHARD C. PINKHAM, Primary Examiner.

THOMAS ZACK, Assistant Examiner. 

